Pokémon Evolutions
by Aweshumnesh
Summary: Her life changes when he sees him battle. Now she embarks on a journey with him with a dream of one day being the best. The journey teaches her about life, love and the magic of music . Little does she know that it all builds up to a greater destiny.
1. Chapter 1

**Evolutions**

**Chapter 1**

**A Page worth Turning Over**

From high atop the summit of Mount Lucille, a young man with long flowing silver hair stared at the night sky. He carefully observed the stars and the clouds. They seemed to be in sync tonight. He readjusted his position and snapped his fingers. His hair turned red. He smirked. "The moon never felt this good", he said to himself.

-X-

The crowd gathered at The Marshall City Central Stadium were esctatic. It wasn't just any concert. "True Velvet" were in town and getting tickets to catch Slyvania's hottest new band live was no mere feat. For the fortunate few, or fourty thousand, i should say, it was going to be a night they would never forget. They had been waiting for quite a while and knew that the band would be on soon. Lights flared and the sound of a chugging guitar riff soon filled the stadium air.

Standing at the centre of the stage was a tall, lean young man with spiky blonde hair. He had ample amounts of hair gel applied and his flamboyant hair only seemed to be matched by his even more flamboyant guitar skills. He stood calmly in one spot as he played away. The riff he was playing was the intro to one of their most popular songs and he knew the crowd had already been won over. As the smoke machines constantly flooded the stage, a few more men followed, taking their respective positions.

_"So you say the sun's a liar? _

_That's an audacious claim for someone so young,_

_But you have that in your eyes_

_You are more than just a liar"_

As the first four lines of the song rang through the stadium, the crowd erputed into a defeaning crescendo. But the band was unfazed. They kept taking occasional glances at the stadium's open roof, catching the moon and stars as they played. The singer's voice was unique. It was powerful yet it always seemed lonely or disdainful, even. But confident at the same time.

_"What if I made the night sky dance?_

_And gave you one last chance,_

_Would you still refuse to cave in?_

_How did you get that spirit?_

_And how will I ever make it mine? "_

Many miles away in the quaint little town of Fender's Lake, a young girl, about fifteen years of age, kept her eyes locked to her television screen. Bands never toured small towns like her's and even if they did, she was sure her family wouldn't be able to afford the tickets. She kept singing out loud to the lyrics, lyrics that she knew inside out. She knew it was the closest she would ever get to "True Velvet", the closest she would get to Santiago, the singer or Hayden, the guitar player. As the band skillfully transitioned from song to another, the young girl continued to sing along to every beat. Her body may have been in her bedroom but her soul was very much on stage along with the band.

She was in her pyjamas. They were worn down but she loved them , always telling her father how comfortable they were. Her long brown her was left flowing and her blue eyes sparkled at the sight of the television screen. She was quite the beauty but her demeanor and tendency to come off as a tomboy didn't quite make her ladylike.

"Liz?", a male voice enquired. But she paid no attention and continued to focus on the screen. The man walked over to the television and switched it off. Liz gave him a murderous glare. "Hey, what was that for, dad?" , she asked angrily. "For not answering me", he replied. "But when did you call me?", "Just a few moments ago". "Really ?". "Uh, nevermind. Look, do you remember you have to go see Professor Leonard tomorrow morning ?". "Yeah yeah, now turn the TV on!" she almost yelled at him. Her father sighed as he turned the TV back on and left the room. "She'll never grow up", he said to himself.

-X-

The morning arrived as expected but Liz was nowhere to be seen. Her father grew impatient and seeing as how it was almost 10 o'clock, went to knock on her door. After knocking for nearly ten minutes, a very sleepy Liz opened the door. She yawned as she wished him a good morning. "Liz, don't you think you're running late?", her father asked in a commanding voice. "Late for what ?", she replied with a question. "For meeting Professor Leonard ?" "Oh, crap".

A few minutes later, a panting Liz could be seen running towards the southern outskirts of the town, where Professor Leonard's laboratory was located. As she made her way there, she saw few young people, most that were around her age, standing with Pokémon. As she raced inside, she saw the old man she had been looking for.

"Ah, Elizabeth you're late as I expected", Professor Leonard said with a smile.

"Um, yeah", Liz replied looking at the ground.

"Oh well then, great concert last night, eh?"

"You saw the concert?" Liz asked wide eyed.

"Oh sure. I am a pretty big fan. I think Santiago has a great voice. And Hayden reminds me of Jimmy Page"

Liz didn't exactly know what to say. She wasn't used to seeing adults excited about True Velvet. Her own father only listened to country music.

"Well now for what I called you here for. Most people your age tend to leave on a journey. In fact, many of your contemporaries have already left".

"Um, yeah", Liz replied recalling how that arrogant brat, Mariah had left on her journey months ago.

"I was wondering if you'd be interested."

"Well I'm not sure"

"Well I'll let you think about it"

Just as they were talking, the sound of flapping wings surprised everyone in the lab. They quickly raced outside to see a majestic dragon like creature with a burning flame at the tip of its tail descending onto the lab grounds. Riding it was a young man with messy black hair, dressed in a blue jacket that covered a black shirt underneath and brown trousers. He seemed familiar to Liz and as he got off the Pokémon, almost everyone gathered there seemed to gasp.

"Good day, Professor", the young man said calmly.  
"Ah nice to see you again, Jay", the Professor said as he want forward to shake his hand.

"Everything going well, I hope?" Jay asked shaking the Professor's hand.

"Ah yes, just giving a few young trainers their first Pokémon. There are a few talented new kids"

"I see", Jay replied eyeing Liz in the distance.

Liz couldn't really understand the fuss about the guy. As he went inside, almost everyone present went over to him asking for the chance to take a photo with him. He complied although he didn't seem to be enjoying the publicity.

"Um, Mr. Perry? " Liz asked , Professor Leonard's aide.

"Yes?"

"Who is that guy?", Liz asked .

"You mean you really don't know?",

"Not a clue"

"Why that's Jay Maxwell, the defending champion of Sylvania"

-X-

Many of the citizens of Fender's Lake rushed to Professor Leonard's lab after learning of Jay's arrival, many of them requesting him to show them his Pokémon. Jay agreed but he didn't seem too pleased about it. It was around this time when the doorbell rang. went over to answer it.

"Professor Leonard, look who's here!", said excitedly as he accompanied another young man inside. He had long curly black hair and tanned skin. A crooked nose was the most eye catching of all his features. "Ah, Saul", Professor Leonard said , greeting the young man. "Good day, Professor. Just came to discuss a few things with you. Didn't expect to find Jay here", Saul said extending his hands towards Jay. "Yeah, I was just, you know, in the area", Jay replied. "It's a small world, after all", Saul said taking a seat in the sofa. "How's the gym going ?", Professor Leonard asked Saul after the latter had settled down. "Oh the usual, professor. You know with the ranking of Hudson City, not a whole lot of trainers come to challenge Sylvania's highest ranked gym. So it's quite most of the time. Not much battling going on", Saul replied. "You must get bored", Jay interjected. "That I do. But I like the job, ya know. There's a ring to it. But hey Jay, since you're here, how about a little battle ?", the gym leader asked. "I suppose there's no harm in that", Jay replied calmly. Soon the whole assembled crowd once again burst into gasps and whispers, visibly excited about the battle that lay ahead of them.

-X-

Professor Leonard led the group to the open fields to the south of the lab grounds. The two trainers took positions and took the role of referee.

"This is an exhibition battle between Jay Maxwell, the Champion of Sylvania and Saul, gym leader of Hudson City. The battle will be a 1 on 1 with no substitutions allowed at any time"

"Espeon!", Jay said calmly as he threw his Pokeball forward. From it, emerged a pink Pokémon with long years and a strange tail. "Aggron!", Saul shouted as he threw his Pokeball forward. A giant steel type with silver and black scales all over its body emerged, growling loudly.

"Aggron, start off with Fire Blast", Saul said excitedly. Aggron shot a large cross shaped body of fire with all its might. The fire raced towards Espeon. From the crowd, Liz watched intently. For whatever reason, she was rooting for Espeon.

"Espeon, Psychic", Jay commanded his Pokémon. The pink Pokémon shot waves of psychic energy at the body of fire, the attacks collided in mid air before the psychic energy devoured the fire and crashed into Aggron. The giant steel type was knocked backwards and crashed into the ground. The crowd gasped in awe of Espeon's immense power and the huge gulf in class between the two Pokémon.

"Aggron, get up buddy!", Saul said encouraging his Pokémon. But it was too late and the steel type was out cold.

"Aggron is unable to battle! The victory goes to Espeon and Jay!", declared. The crowd broke into rapturous applause. "Still the prodigy you were", Saul said as he came forward to shake hands. "I think I just got lucky", Jay said calmly as he returned the handshake.

Out of the blue, Liz slowly walked up to Jay. "Um, ?", she said nervously. Jay had been patting Espeon's head and looked at. "Yes?" "That was amazing!", she said with utmost sincerity. "Thank you, miss. But it was all Espeon's credit, really", he said with what Liz saw for the first time that day, a smile. Not a big smile but it was still a lot for someone who seemed hell bent on not smiling very much.

Later that night, Professor Leonard threw a party at his laboratory in honour of Jay. Saul had already left for Hudson City although he had earlier said that he'd stay for a few days. The embarrassing defeat to Jay may have had something to do with his early departure. Liz had, unexpectedly, been invited. She thought it would just be a black tie affair for the elites of the town and she was by no means an elite. Her father was a mere florist and they just got by through a lot of compromises. She put on whatever dress she had as her "best" and made her way to the lab. For most part of the day, her mind was stuck on the battle she had seen earlier. It was more or less one of the few proper battles she had seen all her life and being over in just one turn, it wasn't much of a competition either. But Espeon's power had dazzled her and she couldn't get her mind off it.

The party was dull and most people just kept asking Jay about his travels, asking him about his strategies or how he trained his Pokemon. Liz listened carefully as he told his stories. He made it sound very easy. He talked about how he had gotten an Eevee as his starter Pokemon and trained diligently with it on his travels. For whatever reason, Liz knew the actual action would be much more difficult than what Jay was making it sound like. "And then one day, Eevee evolved into Espeon", Jay narrated as he went on on his tales.

Liz carefully studied Jay's behavior. He wasn't too fancy or anything but he had certain sophistication about him. And he seemed skilled at dealing with people. He talking in such a way that he came across as friendly but at the same time he did not let people get too up-close and personal. Those were certainly very impressive PR skills, Liz thought. As she continued observing him, she subconsciously compared herself to him. She did not have very good manners by any means. She preferred to keep to herself because she tended to get into fights with people almost everytime she spoke to someone for an extended period of time. Add to that, she wasn't the most confident person around. Her family's position and her general lack of any significant talent had always made her feel low. It was as if nobody had ever told this small town girl that with her beauty, she would be the talk of the town in any big city. All the small town boys, apparently, were too cowardly to ever come to a girl and just tell her how beautiful she was. But perhaps Liz's tendency to keep herself locked in a world of True Velvet and True Velvet alone had something to do with it.

As Jay kept talking, Liz didn't notice how a small furry body kept rubbing against her leg. After a while, the rubbing increased and she looked down and soon , shrieked. The whole crowd looked at her to find a startled girl and an Eevee at her feet.

"What happened, Liz ?", Professor Leonard asked.  
"I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't notice this Pokémon at first. It came out of nowhere and started rubbing against my leg. I was just taken aback", Liz responded, now visibly calmer than before. "I see this Eevee has taken a liking to you", Professor Leonard chuckled. "Really?" Liz asked. The professor nodded his head. Looking back at the Pokémon , Liz got down and slowly rubbed the top of its head. The Pokémon seemed to enjoy it. "Want to be friends?" Liz asked the Pokémon as she knelt down to get on an eye to eye level. The Pokémon cried happily as it nodded its head. "Well then, I'm Elizabeth or Liz for short. Nice to meet you, Eevee", Liz said extending her hand for a handshake. For a while she had forgotten Eevee was a Pokémon and probably wouldn't be familiar with handshakes. But then, to her surprise, the little brown Pokémon extended one of its paws and met her hands. "Wow, you're a smart one", Jay said walking up to the Pokémon. "I'm sure you two will be good friends"

Jay had decided to stay for a few days. He seemed to have taken a liking to the quite little town and took lodgings at Professor Leonard's guest room. Since it had already been a few days, the buzz surrounding Jay's arrival had died down a bit but it would still sometimes get noisy around the lab when school kids would come to check out Jay's Pokémon. It was then that under Professor Leonard's suggestion, Liz took Jay to one of the quietest places in the town, the peak of Free Hill, a small hill to the east of the town. Why it was named "Free Hill", nobody really knew but it was infested with wild Pokémon and that made people stay away. Of course, the wilderness was not an issue with Jay and with Espeon guarding the way, Liz showed Jay to the top of the hill.

"This is a beautiful place", Jay said as he positioned himself on the grass

"Yes indeed, I always used to come here with my mother"

"Used to?"

"Yeah my mother left us when I was seven"

"Oh I'm sorry"

"Oh no, don't be. I'm not really upset about it anymore. She must have been quite a selfish lady to just abandon her husband and daughter like that"

Although Liz insisted she wasn't upset, Jay was sure he could see her eyes begin to water. It was also the first time that Jay realized that Liz was quite a beautiful girl. The hill's peaks were quite windy and the wind played with her hair. Almost everything about her was perfect. But Jay didn't have much time to revel in those thoughts as he soon realized Liz was on the verge of crying.

"You know, I grew up in an orphanage", Jay said quite sternly, almost surprising Liz.

"Really?"

"Oh yes. My parents apparently dropped me off at the orphanage willingly. You know, it'd be one thing if my parents had died or something. But to know that you were abandoned, that was harsh"

"It must have been really hard"

"It was. But then I decided that I wanted to do something that would prove that I don't need them, that I am better off without them. And I think becoming champion of Sylvania has more or less done that"

"Well it certainly has. I wish I could make a statement like that"

The two took in the beautiful view. You could see the whole town from there and Liz realized just how small a town Fender's Lake really was. Jay seemed to be lost in thought and the silence was starting to get a bit awkward. It was then that Jay broke the silence.

"Tell me, Liz, your mother was a trainer, right?"

"How'd you know?"

"Well you said you used to come up here with your mother. And people apparently never come up here without trainers since there are so many wild Pokémon around. So i was just guessing she must have been a trainer"

"Yeah she was. My dad said she even competed in the Sylvanian League once"

"Hey Liz, do you want to compete in the league ?"

"Well yeah, sure. I mean, ever since I saw you battle, I've been wanting to raise Pokémon but I really don't think I am built for any of that"

"Nobody is built from the start. They build themselves up. Tell you what, I'll accompany you on the first few weeks or so and show you the basics. That'll make stuff easy. After that, though, you're on your own"

"You'd really do that?"

"Sure. I personally don't know what to do with my life at the moment. Winning the Sylvanian League was my dream for so long. Now that it's done, I really don't know what to do or where to go. So I'll tag along for now"

"I guess I should thank you but I'm really not good with that stuff"

"You don't have to thank me. Now wipe those tears off. It's strange to see such a pretty face filled with tears"

If Liz didn't know better, it was the first time in her life a boy had called her "pretty". With all her might, she tried to control herself but she couldn't control the blush that had already formed on her face.

"Hey is that a True Velvet t-shirt you're wearing ?"

"Yeah! Do you like them too ?"

"nah, I think they're kind of overrated"

The blush quickly faded.

The morning after saw Liz slowly walking up to the edge of the town accompanied by her father and Professor Leonard. "Are you sure you want to leave on a journey , Liz ?" her father asked. It had been the fifth time he had done that since the previous night , when Liz had announced at Professor Leonard's lab that she intended to leave Fender's Lake and travel across Sylvania with her new Pokémon, Eevee. "Yes, dad. Yes", Liz replied trying hard to not lose her patience. "Well I've packed everything and make sure you call every time you reach a new city", he reminded her. "I'll try, dad".

As she took her first steps out of her hometown, he father looked on with a mix of caution and pride. His girl had changed drastically within a couple of days. "She'll be okay", he told himself. "She'll be okay". As Liz walked down the road leading to Atkins Town, she kept humming a True Velvet song to herself.

"_Now you've gone and claimed your bargain,_

_Keep your mind in check; your spirit sure is fiery,_

_Wonderland you've done it again,_

_It's only the first page of your little diary"_

To her left, walked Jay, the champion of Sylvania. There was surely a lot ahead but neither Liz nor Jay worried about any of that. There was a certain sense of optimism in the air.


	2. Chapter 2

Pokémon Evolutions

Chapter Two

Baby Steps

_**A huge thank you to YamiRuss For his opinions. Really appreciate it. And i realized after uploading that I did not add an Author's Note at the start of the first chapter. Ohwell then. **_

**-X-**

"Quick attack!", Liz ordered Eevee. The small brown Pokémon dashed towards the wild Growlithe. The fire type tried to evade the attack but was too slow. As a result, it took the full force of Eevee's attack. However, it soon shook that off and countered with a small fire attack. "That's Ember, a fire type move", Jay , who was watching from a bit further, instructed Liz.

"Eevee, sand attack!". Eevee kicked up sand from the ground and shot it at Growlithe. The sand blurred its vision and it failed to aim the Ember correctly.

"Quick attack again!"

With Growlithe still trying to shake off the sand in its eyes, the Quick Attack had even more effect and knocked the fire type off its feet and it slammed into the ground a few feet away. "Try throwing a Pokeball now", Jay instructed Liz.

Accordingly, Liz threw a Pokeball at the now weakened fire type. Liz watched in awe as the Pokeball absorbed the fire type into it. The ball nudged around for a bit but finally sealed with a "click" sound. Liz looked over to Jay. "Congratulations!" Jay grinned.

"Does this mean?"

"Yes, yes it does. You caught your first Pokémon!"

He had expected Liz to be jumping around in joy. Instead, she carefully looked at Growlithe's Pokeball with a small smile on her lips.

-X-

Walking with Jay had its perks. No matter how plain and boring the country roads got, Liz knew she could rely on Jay to keep her entertained with the stories of his travels. She wondered if there would come a day when Jay's stories would end and he would have to repeat a story he had already told. Nevertheless, she couldn't help feel amazed at all the things Jay had seen and done. And for someone so experienced, he didn't seem to show any signs of pride. He brushed off most things with a laid back "I got lucky"

"You know it's pretty sad what's going on in the Emerald Valley", Jay said pretty nonchalantly.

"What is going on where?"

"You mean you don't know ?"

"Um, no"

"Boy you sure are clueless, Liz. You're like those blonde stereotypes"

"I'm not blonde!"

"I know. You're a brunette. And I think that's adorable", Jay seemed to spit that out without thinking too much and blushed almost immediately.

"Thank you", Liz replied, blushing as well.

"Um, anyway"

"Yeah you were saying something about some valley"

"Yes, the emerald valley. It's to the north of Sylvania. Politically, it's a pretty important place".

"I really don't like politics"

"I could tell"

"Hey !", Liz felt mocked.

"No, no. That's perfectly alright. I myself don't like politics very much but the Valley interests me."

"Fine then tell me about it"

"Very well then"

"To the north-eastern borders of Sylvania, lies the Emerald Valley. Surrounded by a large mountain chain, it remains isolated from much of mainland Sylvania. The mouth of the valley houses large stores of Emerald Ore. This is very important for the Royal Family. The emerald ore mined from here accounts for much of the Royal Family's wealth. Of course, because of these mines, the Royal Family has, for generations, refused to make developed modern roads that connected the valley to the rest of Sylvania. Because if they made roads or set up electric connections or basically tried to make any facilities there, it would damage the emerald ore. Which would mean the Royal Family would be losing a lot of money. So the Eldenian Palace has never tried to develop the area. Which means the villages in the valley remain isolated and ore continues to be mined."

"That must suck for the people there"

"Yes, yes it does. Many of the residents of the villages have rebelled and tried fighting off the royal forces off. But unfortunately, they have never been a match for the palace's forces. Outnumbered and outskilled. It's because of this that people with green eyes generally get so much hatred from the average Sylvanian"

"What does any of this have to do with green eyes?"

"Where were you in history class, Liz?"

"Asleep, most probably "

"I see. Well the residents of the emerald valley have green eyes. Nobody quite knows why that is the case. I assume generations of exposure to the emerald ore or something. But the palace has done a good job portraying them as unruly traitors. Which is why people don't like the people with the green eyes. To the masses, theses are traitors who fight against the Palace. While in truth, the palace and royal family are the real villains."

"But I've barely ever seen people with green eyes"

"That's because the Valley's natives now change their appearance before coming out in public. Most hide their identities and pretend to be from elsewhere. It is a pretty sad situation, really"

"You're saying the palace fooled the public?"

"Well yes, the palace does rule Sylvania and control the media and whatnot. It is pretty easy on their part to do something like that. And the problem with the masses is that the swallow what they are fed. Which is why I advise you, Liz, always see beyond the external appearance of things. Things are hardly what they seem"

"Um, I'll try to remember that"

"Don't worry. I'll remind you every morning", Jay said with a grin.

Distracted by their conversation, Liz and Jay did not notice that they had walked quite a bit. By then, they had reached a small roadside inn and decided to stop for lunch. The inn was a small place and inside, the two found three circular tables lined with chairs. Surprisingly, they were completely empty. A young girl, probably in her late teens or early twenties, sat at the counter. She seemed to be bored and sad at the same time. Perhaps it was the sadness that arose from being bored, Liz thought. She recalled all the times she would get upset when she would have nothing to do. It was kind of funny that humans, who always found ways to slack off from work, would feel upset when they had nothing to do.

The sound of their footsteps seemed to catch her attention. The girl looked up at them. She wore an old dress that was untidy and was clearly not the most expensive dress around.

"Customers!" she exclaimed as she jumped from her position.

"I guess we are", Jay replied with a nervous smile.

"Oh I'm sorry. It's just that we barely have any customers these days"

"Why's that?" Liz asked.

"Well I wouldn't want to bother you with that. You two look tired"

"If you're worried we'll be scared away or something, you don't have to tell us. But maybe we could help", Jay suggested.

"Well," she shrugged. She seemed to be lost in thought. Suddenly, her expression changed and she almost shrieked."Hey, I know who you are! You're Jay Maxwell !"

"Yes, yes I am", Jay smiled. "Nice to meet you Mandy"

"How'd you know her name?" Liz asked him.

"It's written on the name plate on her chest", Jay replied pointing to the name plate.

"Why were you looking at my chest?" Mandy asked him. She didn't seem to mind.

"I um, uh" Jay became nervous and started scratching the back of his head.

"Well I guess you are the champion and all. I should be flattered if you are checking me out!" Mandy said with a smile.

"No you shouldn't!" Liz interrupted.

"Why not?"

"Because you shouldn't be!" Liz almost yelled at her.

"Um, Mandy, I believe you wanted to wanted to tell us why business was going so badly ?", Jay reminded the young girl, diverting attention from Liz.

"Oh of course. Now if you're little friend would let me". Liz did not seem to like being mentioned in such a manner and was going to react. But she stopped after seeing the glare she was getting from Jay and merely resigned to her seat with a "humph".

"My father first built this inn as a place trainers could stop and have a rest at. Business was going well because there weren't any places like this nearby. This was going on for years until my father passed away. Then I took over. I had good fortune for a few years too but everything changed a few months ago before that thug, Troy showed up. He kept this area in check and would often come to inn and attack the trainers. He is pretty strong and every time he would steal the trainers' Pokémon. When word of Troy's actions spread, people stopped coming to the inn and because they knew, there was a high change they would fall prey to Troy if they came"

"How often does this Troy come here?" Jay asked

"Once daily, he comes and collects a tax he's imposed. He says this route is his area"

"How come you never called the police?"

"He threatened me that if I tried calling or the police, the consequences would not be good"

"That's horrible." Liz said. She seemed to have forgotten the small fight she had had with Mandy earlier and now seemed sympathized with the poor girl.

"Yes. I barely earn enough. And I have to pay taxes to this guy daily. I can't even leave this shop since it has my father's memories"

It was just then that they heard a knock on the door before someone from the other side opened the door himself. The man who entered was bald and wore a dusty black leather jacket. His face had a rugged construction. He took two quick looks at Jay and Liz and then walked over to Mandy.

"Why hello there, you must be Troy", Jay said with a smile while extending his hand for a handshake.

"Get lost, punk", Troy muttered under his breath.

"Well that's not very nice", Jay said in a mocking fashion.

Jay noticed Troy reaching for a Pokeball. From the Pokeball Troy threw, emerged a Squirtle.

"Why that's a nice Pokémon you got there. But it looks sort of unhappy. May be you should try raising it better"

Troy seemed to a bit taken aback at Jay's actions. "Shut up , you little shit", Troy cursed at him.

"Fine I'll shut up. My friend Liz here will battle you", Jay said coyly.

"Me ?", Liz was surprised out of her wits.

"Yes, you "

"Oh fine", Liz did not want to argue with Jay. She knew that Jay knew what he what he was doing. At least, she hoped he did.

"Eevee!", the brown Pokemon walked up from behind her to face the Squirtle.

"Bubblebeam! Crush that thing !"

"Eevee, quick use Agility to dodge !"

Eevee ran quickly to dodge the barrage of bubble. "Now, Tackle !"

Eevee smashed into Squirtle , knocking it multiple feet backwards.

"Squirtle, get up you idiot"

Troy's behavior towards Squirtle sent a chill down Liz's spine. But Jay didn't seem to be surprised.

The Squirtle got back on its feet. It looked disgusted with itself. But something more that Liz noticed was that the Pokémon looked afraid. Surely it wasn't that afraid of Eevee. Then what was it scared of?

"Use Bubblebeam again and it better hit this time!", Troy commanded.

"Eevee, use the same method like earlier!"

And again, Eevee dashed forward, zigzagging on its way to easily dodge the attack from Squirtle. "Now, Quick Attack !"

Before Squirtle could even reach a defensive position or attempt to dodge, Eevee crashed into it and the force of the attack made Squirtle faint.

"Ugh you worthless excuse of a Pokémon!" Troy yelled at Squirtle and seemed to be walking up to it, ready to aim a kick at it.

"You take one step and you will you be burnt to ashes", Jay announced sternly. He had released Charizard behind him. Liz was surprised by the authority in Jay's voice. She was yet to hear him so angry. But she supported what he was doing.

"You bastards won't get away with messing with one of the Alliance", Troy cursed at them before walking out, leaving Squirtle behind. The water Pokémon looked at its fleeing trainer and wanted to follow him but later chose not to. It had had enough.

-X-

Liz spent a lot of time trying to befriend Squirtle but the poor Pokémon was clearly having a hard time dealing with the mental scars left from its time with Troy. There was no surprise that it was having a problem with trusting humans. The kindness that Liz and Jay showed it was having an effect but it was surely going to be a long time before Squirtle opened up completely.

Mandy had made them lunch and the three of them sat at a table, discussing what they would do next.

"I really don't think it would be safe for you to remain here , Mandy", Jay said taking a bite out of his meal.

"I was thinking that too", Liz added.

"I understand what you're saying but where am I going to go ?"

"Why don't you shift to Fender's Lake ? I was just there a few days ago and there aren't any inns there. You could get good business there", Jay suggested.

"But I don't have any money left. How am I even going to start out?"

"I could lend you some. Pay me back when your business starts flourishing"

As the sun began to set, Jay and Liz prepared to bid farewell to Mandy. It was then that Liz noticed a Skarmory flying towards them from the distance.

"Ah he's here!" Jay exclaimed, apparently delighted.

Dismounting the Skarmory, a young man with flowing red hair walked up to Jay. Liz took a good look at him and gasped.

"SANTIAGO!", she yelled at the top of her voice.

"Oh no no!", the man with the red hair protested. "My name is Antonio. I'm his twin brother!",

"Oh", Liz looked disheartened. "I'm sorry"

"It's alright. People make that mistake often. Anyway, how have you been doing, Jay ?"

"I am getting along. This is Mandy. She is the one you are to escort"

"escort?", Mandy asked, clearly confused.

"Yes. I do not think it would be safe for you to travel to Fender's Lake alone. He will drop you off"

Liz eyed Antonio from a distance. He had a strange aura about him, something he carried pretty well though. His skin was very pale, exactly like his twin's but he dressed strangely. He wore a long flowing cloak and wore a cowboy hat. Whether it was a strange gimmick or something, she couldn't tell. But he looked like a character out of a Victorian Fantasy novel.

It had been many hours since the group had parted. Liz and Jay and continued on their way towards Atkins Town while Mandy and Antonio went in the opposite direction, clearly headed towards Fender's Lake. The sun had already set and the moon was shining brightly overhead.

"Isn't the moon lovely?", Antonio asked Mandy.

"It definitely yes"

"Hmm. The moon feels really good tonight"

"You sure seem to like the moon"

"Don't we all, Mandy ?"

"Well I guess so. But most people in the big cities don't seem to notice the moon much at all"

"Yes, that is the problem with the cities. They are far too fake"

"Well I wouldn't know. I've never lived in cities"

"You should. It's good to experience different perspectives. It broadens your horizons and helps you realize how small we are"

"Um, Antonio ?"

"Yes?"

"Wasn't you hair red just a while ago?"

"No"

"Oh. I must have not noticed the colour properly before. I could have sworn it looked red back there"

In the moonlight path towards Fender's Lake, walked a confused Mandy and beside her, walked a young man with flowing emerald hair. Some would call the colour "green". But to him, it was and would always be emerald.


	3. Chapter 3

Pokémon Evolutions

Chapter Three

Mirrors in the Rain

_**This is really short, I know. But chapters like these are like little fillers that serve a special purpose. **_

-X-

It had been a little under a week since the start of their jounrey. Jay had mentioned earlier that the trek from Fender's Lake to Atkins Town would take around seven to eight days. Nearly at the end of the stipulated time, Liz had been growing impatient. By then she had realized that there would be multiple sides to her journey. There was going to be exciting moments like battles and wild Pokemon while on the flip side there would be a lot of walking and a whole lot of bad food.

"How can you survive on just instant noodles ? It's all we've been having for days", Liz complained as the two of them sat down for lunch. They had picked the bank of a small pond to to stop for lunch. Beside her, set Eevee, happily munching down on Pokefeed. Jay's Espeon and Charizard were both doing the same a bit further from where the humans set. Those two were the only Pokemon Jay had brought along with him. Growlithe and Squirtle were walking around, taking in the view.

"Hey at least we have some food now. There will be a lot of days when you can't even get this and you'll be left eating berries. And that is, if you're lucky enough to find some", Jay replied, empasizing on the "if".

"I guess being a trainer isn't so easy after all. I wish I could have a home cooked meal right about now"

"Well think of it this way, Liz. There are a lot of people who get to have home cooked meals but they don't get the chance to travel with Pokemon, now do they ?"

"Ugh, i hate it when you sound so reasonable"

"When do I ever sound unreasonable ?"

As they ate, Jay noticed the sky beginning to get darker. "Looks like it's going to rain. We better find some shelter or something". Returning their Pokémon to their pokeballs, the two trainers started looking around for any sign of shelter. But as they had expected, there wasn't much in sight. Panting, they reached a small cave. With no other form of shelter in sight, they decided to enter.

The interior was quite dark but Espeon illuminated it with Flash. Now with light, they saw the cave was nothing out of the ordinary and decided to sit down. Jay noticed Liz trying to dry herself. "You might want to get used to this". Liz did not look amused.

"You know, the rain's not a bad thing", Jay said, watching Liz dry her hair.

"You were the one who started looking for shelter"

"Yes, because I was pretty sure a girl like you never got wet much"

"Why'd you think that?"

"I don't know. I just had a gut feeling"

"Well you're wrong. I loved the rain"

She then did something Jay had not expected. Releasing her Eevee from the pokeball , Liz asked the little Pokémon if it would like to accompany her into the rain. The Pokémon nodded happily and began following its trainer out of the cave. Jay watched intently as a girl who he was sure had never gotten wet in the rain before, walked out of the cave to face rain that had intensified since the two had entered the cave.

"See?" she yelled over to Jay. "I love the rain!"

After a few mintues, she was joined by Jay as well. "Why should I be left out?"

Jay watched her dancing in the rain. She was a strange spirit. Yet there was something very nice about her.


	4. Chapter 4

Pokemon Evolutions

Chapter Four

The Sand Badge

_**This chapter marks Liz's first gym battle. So it doesn't get really intense.**_

**-X-**

"This is Atkins town?" a disappointed Liz asked, standing at the outskirts of a quaint little town. It wasn't much different from Fender's Lake, may be with just a few more houses.

"Were you expecting something bigger?" Jay laughed.

"Well yeah. I was hoping it was going to be something extravagant"

"Ah but your journey has only started. If you don't get eaten by any wild Pokémon anytime soon, you will get to see grander cities. But that is _if_ you don't die"

"That's not funny, "

"I wasn't trying to be"

The town was a quiet little place and most citizens seemed friendly enough. To her surprise, Liz found that the people weren't much different from the people she saw back in her hometown. Perhaps it was because both places were small towns. As she walked , she saw a few men eyeing her from afar. They had lewd smiles on their faces. Jay noticed this.

"Those men are physically attracted to you", he said very matter-of-factly

"I like how you're so clear cut"

"Does that mean you like me?"

"I did not say that"

"Ok"

As they walked to the Pokémon Centre, Liz recapped the events of the past few weeks in her mind. It had all been a blur, one thing leading to the other. And now there she was, proud trainer of three Pokémon , travelling with a the champion of Sylvania. She suddenly remembered that Jay had only volunteered to travel with her for a while, until she got her first gym badge to be more precise. Since she was already in the town that would be the venue of her first gym challenge, perhaps that wouldn't be much longer. The thought of Jay leaving suddenly made her very upset.

Liz found the Pokémon Centre to be very hospitable. As she handed her Poke balls over to the nurse, she saw many other trainers sitting around the lobby. A lot of them seemed road worn and she guessed they had travelled from far away to reach Atkins Town. This realization led to another for her. Atkins Town was pretty close to Fender's Lake and even then it had taken nearly ten days. Who knew how much more travelling lay ahead of her?

"You should read this", Jay told her in an authoritative manner as he handed her a pamphlet.

Liz studied the pamphlet for a while before reading out the contents:

"_Challengers are shaking in their boots,_

_Atkins Town Gym Leader Chet, the King of Ground Types, shall pummel them all"_

"This Chet guy sounds scary, Jay"

"Oh don't worry. Most towns are proud of their gym leaders so the stuff they have on the pamphlets are exaggerations"

"Then why'd you make me read it?"

"Because I want you to think over your approach to the battle."

"Well, I remember you telling me that it will be a one on one. In which case, I have decided to use Squirtle"

"I understand Squirtle will have a type advantage. But you've never really battled with it before. Are you sure?"

"Yep. Plus I want Squirtle to regain some of its confidence. This might be a good way to do it"

Jay didn't say anything after. Though he didn't say it, he was feeling proud of the maturity Liz had just showed.

The gym itself wasn't anything out of the ordinary. It was a large warehouse with a battle field in the middle.

"Is this place empty?", Liz asked Jay as the two examined the area.

"I'm not sure. I mean, the gates weren't locked. So he should be here".

Suddenly, the stage lit up. Standing at the centre of the stage, was a old man dressed in a sweatsuit . He looked towards them.

"Ah, Jay Maxwell. It is good to see you", the old man said.

"You too, Chet", Jay replied dryly.

"Have you finally realized your earlier victory over me was a mere fluke and have come to ask for a rematch so I may teach you a few things about battling?", the old man spoke so fast that Liz couldn't help giggling.

"Err no, Chet. Liz here has come to challenge you"

"Hmm?" Chet looked over to Liz and seemed to study for a few moments. "She looks intimidating". Liz couldn't tell if this man was trying to make fun of her because he said it as if he meant it.

"She seems clueless. I see she has trained for many years and gained such experience that this material world seems pointless to her and hence she is lost in deep thought. Is it like that?", Chet asked confidently.

"It is exactly like that", Jay replied. Liz gasped at his direction.

"Very well then, I shall accept this challenge. I do ask that she takes it easy on me"

Jay looked over to Liz and then to Chet. "Very well, she will do so".

As the trainers took their positions, one of Chet's junior trainers took the role of referee.

"This will be a one on one battle between Chet, the gym leader of Atkins Town and Elizabeth Hudson from Fender's Lake. No substitutions allowed for either side. If successful, Elizabeth Hudson shall win the Sand Badge and be a certified trainer of the Atkins Town Gym. May the battle begin!"

"Mudkip!", Chet threw his Pokeball forward.

"Squirtle!", Liz threw her own Pokeball forward.

Checking her Pokedex, Liz was somewhat startled to find that Mudkip was both a water type and a ground type so her initial plan of going with water type attacks would not work. "Oh well, then", Liz thought. "Here goes".

"Mudkip, Tackle!", Mudkip came forward with the attack.

Squirtle nervously looked towards Liz for commands.

"Withdraw!" Liz ordered it in the last moment. Immediately, Squirtle drew into its shell. Mudkip tackled the shell but the hard exterior made it very difficult for the Pokémon to do any extensive damage. In fact, it suffered a bit of recoil damage.

Jay smiled at Liz's wit. Chet was clearly thrown off guard by the last minute defence.

"Mud-Slap!", Chet oreder his Pokemon. Receiving its trainer's orders, Mudkip launched a bits of mud at Squirtle.

"Reflect it with Rapid Spin, Squirtle!"

Squirtle withdrew into its shell again and began to spin at rapidly. As Squirtle came into contact with the mud, the spinning trajectory reflected the mud and launched it into the opposite direction towards Mudkip. The mud struck into Mudkip with full impact , launching the Pokémon quite a few feet backwards.

"Now! Skull Bash!", Liz ordered confidently. Squirtle, by then feeling much more confident, acted accordingly, lowering its skull before smashing into Mudkip. The attack proved to be more than what Mudkip could handle and the Pokémon was knocked off its feet, clearly out cold.

"Mudkip is unable to battle. The victory goes to Squirtle and Elizabeth from Fender's Lake!", the referee announced.

Jay started clapping from the sidelines. Liz didn't notice that at first, lost in the euphoria of what had just happened. When the realization of Jay's clapping dawned on her, she blushed.

"Breathtaking, marvelous, amazing, clearly on another league", Chet kept drowning her in adulations as he came forward to congratulate her.

"Oh I think I just got lucky. And the credit was all Squirtle's", Liz replied, trying her best to sound to modest. Yet she knew there was pride creeping through. She wondered how Jay managed to stay grounded and modest. But she soon pushed those thoughts away and told herself that a bit of pride was acceptable considering she had just won her first gym badge.

"To mark your victory, I award you the Sand Badge", Chet said handing over the badge. Liz took it in her hand and examined the badge which was a miniature hour-glass.

"See , Squirtle ? We won this badge?"

The Pokemon looked at the badge and smiled. It seemed proud of what it had done. Liz was just glad the Pokemon was feeling better.


End file.
